The Honeymoon Game

admin May 01, 2008 organizational culture, vision 2 Comments

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At Friday’s all staff meeting I handed out index cards and asked everyone to complete three sentences:

  1. When I think about our organization, the word that comes to mind is:
  2. I wish I worked for an organization that was:
  3. I want us to be more:

The exercise reminded me of that 70’s game show The Honeymoon Game. And, yes, I realize that this dates me horribly. I’m a very old mean lady. Just FYI.

Here are the answers:

  1. helpful; campus technology problem solvers; monolithic; sluggish; support; technology (two people wrote this); work; jack of all trades/master of none/emergency room; mistrusted; technology driven; technical; incoherent; computers; dysfunctionally anachronistic; struggling; hardworking people who aren’t always acknowledged; yes; confused; beleaguered; diverse; service-oriented; complicated; passive
  2. able to plan and collaborate; praised more; open and collaborative (two people wrote this); pushing the envelope; in a position to provide growth and support within one’s secret classification; better paying; free of politics; proactive and not reactive; effective; progressive; able to communicate with each other more clearly (three people wrote this); unified; consistent; technologically progressive; consulted, respected, and capable; focused on team building and employee appreciation; respected all of its parts and knows what it is supposed to do; respected; well structured and open to innovation; exciting
  3. proactive and customer-focused (two people wrote this); proud of our accomplishments; involved in the campus community; self-motivated and passionate about the university; firm in supporting its own policies; cool; offered more training; prepared to resolve client issues; fun; unified; cohesive; respected by the campus community; organized; reliable; technologically cutting edge; on top of current technology; focused on working as a team; collaborative and communicative with better documented policies; innovative and consulted (two people wrote this); self sufficient; in control of university technology decisions; less structured; fun

So the good news is that there’s a pretty decent consensus on our current state. Now all we need to do is to change our culture!

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2 Responses to “The Honeymoon Game”

  1. kdghty said:

    May 01, 08 at 6:35 pm

    i read that you’ve got some people who just can’t care anymore; some who are lacking in vision, but plod on, and some who are frustrated because they really want it all to mean so much more than it does. that last group is the group worth saving.

    and, hey, i’m older and meaner and, apparently, intimidating. gotta love annual reviews!

  2. kc said:

    May 02, 08 at 8:43 am

    Those answers are a riot! I especially liked “computers”.

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